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December 09, 2011

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Barbara Bush delivered the keynote speech at the Best Workplaces for Women awards in Fort Worth on Thursday and joked about her famous name.

Said the former first daughter, "I hope no one here was disappointed to get the 30-year-old version of Barbara Bush...I have been to a few events where people [were] expecting the 86-year-old, more well-known Barbara Bush. You get me."

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December 09, 2011

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Spotted: Former President Bill Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea, with The Fray before the band’s performance at a Clinton Foundation event on Thursday night in New York City. The foundation posted a snapshot of the crew on Twitter.

Earlier in the day, Chelsea wrote on Facebook, "I am really excited to see The Fray live - and every time I hear my father speak, I learn something."

“The Nine Lives of Marion Barry” filmmakers, Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer, have been tapped to consult on the project, as have Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood — journos and authors of “Dream City,” an inside Washington book on the Barry era.

The Post pointed out that, “It’s not the first time the network has considered milking the Barry drama: In 2002, filming reportedly was due to start on a movie starring Jamie Foxx and written by Chris Rock that somehow never happened.”

Barry, who served as D.C. mayor from 1979-91 and from 1995-99, was arrested on drug charges in 1990 and is now a D.C. council member.

One thing’s for sure, if the still-untitled and in development biopic makes it to air, it’s going to be a heck of a lot better than the short-lived Marion Barry reality show for YouTube audiences only.

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December 09, 2011

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Television personality Rosie O’Donnell ripped into Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry in an interview with HLN’s Joy Behar that aired Thursday night. O’Donnell, who is openly gay, accused Perry of “bullying” homosexuals with his latest campaign ad, which criticizes the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

In the ad, Perry says, “I`m not ashamed to admit that I`m a Christian, but you don`t need to be in a pew every Sunday to know that there`s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can`t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.”

“You know, I`d like him to take a look at the statistics about children who kill themselves because they`re gay and they`re bullied,” O’Donnell said in response to the ad. “The bullying starts right there with presidential candidates. It`s wrong, it`s sinful and it`s destroying the nation. It really is. Gay people are part of the fabric of America; they have been of every country and every animal species and kingdom. People have to wake up and get with the program. This is not the 1950s. So Rick Perry, shame on you.”

December 09, 2011

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Remarking that many candidates won’t be attending, Fallon joked: “That’s just gonna be a weird debate when Trump’s like, ‘Newt Gingrich said he would cut taxes. How do you respond to that, uh, Newt Gingrich?’”

Click above to hear this one-liner and more in POLITICO Playback, our daily feature bringing you the best of yesterday’s late-night TV.

Abramoff, who served three and a half years in federal prison for conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion, was on the show to promote his book, “Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist.”

Colbert and Abramoff took turns jabbing at Congress, with Colbert saying, “Who better to write our legislation [than lobbyists], they know what they’re talking about. We know Congress, the government can’t do anything.”

Abramoff replied, “They can barely read the legislation, which is actually very convenient for lobbyists.”

Explaining what the industry does, Abramoff said, “Lobbying is fine. It’s petitioning the government, it’s a right that we have. But when a lobbyist gives money or gives contributions or meals or tickets or prostitutes or whatever lobbyists do, it’s a problem…I didn’t give prostitutes by the way.”

“I was going to say, that came off your lips awful quickly,” replied the host. “I’d tell you what, we’d sell some books right now if you can say that’s in there.”

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December 08, 2011

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Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa were in Washington for a gig Wednesday night and took a few minutes to talk about legalizing marijuana.

Hot 99.5's Toby Knapp asked the rappers what they would say to the president “about the legalization of certain things which are currently oppressed.”

Said Snoop, “Before I even said hi to President Obama I would change the aroma of the room…And then we could start conversing after we had that aroma change.” Wiz added, “They legalized alcohol, they legalized tobacco. What is it going to hurt to legalize this medicinal, medical marijuana that’s used for purposes of cataracts, migraines, cancer.”

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December 08, 2011

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The former vice president told actor Trevor Donovan that he’s tuned in to the show – a remake of the popular ‘90s drama – at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights 2011 Ripple of Hope Awards on Monday night.

Donovan, who played a young gay man named Teddy on “90210,” spoke about bullying at the event. Afterward, he told POLITICO, Gore congratulated him on the speech and complimented his performance on the show.

Gore said he was “very familiar” with his character’s storyline, which came as a surprise to Donovan. Said the actor, “I was a bit taken aback and extremely flattered.”

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December 08, 2011

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On Wednesday night in Washington, Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly was walking down the street, in the rain, apparently minding his own business when a Wisconsin community organizer named Brendan Lane asked him if he’d been at Newt Gingrich’s fundraiser. (He wasn’t, according to Talking Points Memo.)

But the question seemed to bother O’Reilly, who proceeded to shove his umbrella into Lane’s camera. After muttering, “Hey, sorry about that,” O’Reilly asked a nearby police officer to get involved.

Click above to watch the dust-up. Both men left the scene unscathed, it seems, but it looks like O’Reilly could use a new umbrella.

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December 08, 2011

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There were a few unexpected guests at Lincoln restaurant on Tuesday when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor threw his annual Festivus fundraiser to benefit ERIC PAC (Every Republican Is Crucial).

A large group of Occupy Wall Street protesters showed up outside the restaurant and chanted, “We are the 99 percent,” as members of Congress, lobbyists and business leaders made their way into the President Lincoln-themed restaurant.

Video footage on Mother Jones shows some of the guests, like Rep. Austin Scott, having a tough time entering the shindig because of the protesters. Chants of “traitor, traitor!” can be heard as Scott tries to get to the door.

Not exactly a red carpet arrival, but once the guests were through the glass doors, there was butternut risotto, mac and cheese, chicken potpie pastries, steak and waffles, Moscow Mules and Manhattans waiting for them.

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December 08, 2011

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Singer Mary. J Blige attended President Barack Obama’s Inauguration in 2009 and remembered the occasion in an interview that aired Wednesday night with CNN’s Piers Morgan.

“From being a little girl in the projects, going through all of the mess that I was going through, to ending up at the inauguration for the first African-American president, I'm speechless right now because I never thought I'd — I never ever — I couldn't even see that far,” she said, according to an online transcript. “Even when I ended up in the music business, I couldn't see that.”

Asked if she’s impressed with Obama’s performance so far, Blige said that, given “the mess that was thrown on him,” he is “dealing with it pretty good.”

“Do you think he's capable of great things?” asked Morgan.

“I believe he's capable of doing — of having another chance," she said ."... He was given such a big pile of — here, take that, clean that up. One, you just can't do that in one shot. And I think we have to ride and respect and support him, because that's a lot.”

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December 07, 2011

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After the Roots played Fishbone song “Lyin' Ass Bitch“ as Michele Bachmann’s intro music on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” last month, Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson issued a statement saying it “was a tongue-in-cheek and spur of the moment decision.”

But a new profile of Questlove in "Rolling Stone" tells a different story. The magazine interviewed the musician prior to the Nov. 21 Bachmann debacle for their Dec. 26 issue.

“I’m gunning for Bachmann,” Questlove, a vocal Obama fan, told Rolling Stone. To put a time stamp on the comment, the magazine wrote that during the interview, he was “looking up walk-on songs for next week’s shows.”

Continued Questlove, “I want to try and do Fishbone’s ‘Lyin’ Ass Bitch.’ I just don’t know if I’m gonna tell Jimmy.”

On the night of the show, Questlove commented on the music again. When he played the song for the band to learn, keyboardist James Poyser asked, “What’s that?” Questlove’s answer: “You don’t want to know. …Trust me…I’m protecting you.”

According to the mag, Questlove now “has to clear every song with three different people.”

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December 07, 2011

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Wednesday marks one year since the passing of Elizabeth Edwards from metastatic breast cancer.

In Self magazine, Elizabeth’s newlywed daughter, Cate, reflects on the many memories and momisms that have stayed with her:

There are things quintessentially Elizabeth that will always remind me of her. Some of them are grating (a constant flow of grammatical corrections). Some of them gracious (the constant claim that friends and family--not herself--are to thank for her own strength). Some of them are ill-advised (putting together meals comprised only of 100-calorie snacks). Some of them are good advice (to put together the biggest dream you can for yourself, then go one bigger). Some of them are passing (her idea to buy a bush hog and cut her own path in our backyard). Some of them are lasting (her idea to be herself, regardless, and forge her own path in life).

Cate left her job at a Washington law firm and started the Elizabeth Edwards Foundation in June.